City Offered Trade for Condo

The city has received an offer to swap its Rowe Condominium unit for a house in Harrisonville and, although hesitant to agree to the exchange, city leaders say they need more time to consider the trade and will have city attorney Tom Evashevski review the condominium by-laws. The matter was discussed during a Streets Committee meeting Wednesday, December 9.

The offer to exchange the condominium for the house was made in September by Margaret McIntire and discussed by the Finance Committee September 23, which agreed more information was needed from city appraiser Joe Stakoe. The Streets Committee took up the matter this week.

The city has been trying to sell the condominium for several years.

The property Mrs. McIntire is offering to exchange is owned by the McIntire Limited Partnership and is a corner lot with a two-bedroom, one-bath home on Cadotte and Fifth Street. Mrs. McIntire also owns three of the Rowe Condominium units.

Mr. Stakoe analyzed both properties. The condominium is valued at $248,000. The Harrisonville property is valued at $230,000, less an estimated cost of $5,000 to add foundation vents. The difference is $18,000, although the city is also facing a $15,000 assessment for landscape work at the condominium, which would leave a $3,000 difference in property value.

Committee member Jason St. Onge said he is not interested in exchanging the properties. The Harrisonville site is less sellable, he said.

"The marketability of it are two different things," said Mr. St. Onge, "and when the prices start to come back, that Rowe Condo will appraise at a lot higher and a lot faster than that little house in the Village. I'm voting 'no' on this just because I don't think this is the direction the city wants to go in. I don't want to go from owning one house we can't sell in the Mission to a different house we can't sell in Harrisonville. I don't want to be a landlord in Harrisonville. We're trying to get away from employee housing in Harrisonville and not be a part of it. I don't like being a landlord down in the Mission, but at least that building has always been a high-density building."

If the city cannot sell the condominium, he suggested renting the unit.

Becki Barnwell, Mrs. McIntire's daughter, said the condominium rules could be changed to restrict renting the units.

Mayor Margaret Doud said a copy of the by-laws would be given to Mr. Evashevski for his review in light of the possibility that renting units would be restricted in the future.

When the exchange is considered, Mr. Evashevski advised the committee to base its decision on the best interests of the city.